


The Words You Said (left a clouded mind and a heavy heart)

by Kayleegee



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Family Feels, Future Fic, Gen, Kid Fic, post 4x15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 22:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6169231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayleegee/pseuds/Kayleegee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The video is paused, ready to play. Will looks at the man’s face that fills the screen. Oliver. His name is Oliver. Taking a deep breath, Will hits play…</p><p>And his world is irrevocably changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Words You Said (left a clouded mind and a heavy heart)

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons

The video file is grainy and a bit pixelated. It’s not as bad as the videos from his first birthday party which Mom pulls out every year. Mom always huffs about technology and how fast it moves and then yells at him to stop laughing at what she’s wearing. Flared jeans were cool back then, allegedly.

The video is paused, ready to play. Will looks at the man’s face that fills the screen. Oliver. His name is Oliver. For a brief few months Oliver came around the house back in Central City. They’d play action figures together. Will was always the Flash, and Oliver one of the bad guys. He’d been really into the Flash back then. 

Oliver had only been in their lives a few short months before they moved to the east coast, after the kidnapping, and Will had all but forgotten about Mom’s friend, Oliver. At the time, Will had spent more time processing the kidnapping and the move. He and his mom hardly ever talk about the kidnapping, although it is what got Will off his Flash kick and into the Green Arrow, who he still admires today. Truth be told, the Green Arrow is one of the reasons Will’s decided to attend SCU in Star City. Mom isn’t totally happy about the decision, but when he presses her as to why, she just shakes her head and gives a total mom answer that he doesn’t quite believe. “It’s so far away, honey.” 

Will's hand hovers over the play button. He’s a bit confused as to why his mother just pushed this tablet into his hands, nearly in tears. “I need you to watch this,” she’d said. “I’ll be downstairs if you want to talk, but I understand if you won’t want to.” She hadn’t waited for a response before leaving his room, closing the door. 

Taking a deep breath, Will hits play. 

“Hi, William. I hope you’re well and and I hope you’re safe,” Oliver begins. “There’s something that I… I want to tell you. I wanted to tell you before.” He pauses a moment, as if he’s trying to convince himself of something. “This is better.” 

Will nearly drops the tablet when he hears Oliver say, “I’m your father, biologically, that is.” Will feels tears prickling his eyes, making it hard to see the video. “As far as really being your father goes, I haven’t earned that yet.” 

Will pauses the video, tossing the tablet on the bed. He stands up for no reason other than the need to move. He begins to pace. This is unbelievable. 

It’s been a long time since Will considered who or what his dad was. Growing up with just his mom had seemed perfectly normal, just as normal as his friends at school who had a mom and a dad or two dads or two moms. A few kids in his school were raised by their grandparents.

When he was 12, Mom met Dave. Dave was a good guy, divorced with two daughters of his own who’d welcomed Will with open arms. There’d been some growing pains when Mom and Dave had married, but they’d gotten through it. Six years later, Will still calls him Dave, but they go to baseball games and Dave’s the one who taught him how to drive a stick and had that super awkward condom talk that neither one will ever speak of again. 

Will had asked a few times about his dad, his real dad, but Mom always got a stricken look on her face, and when pressed would only say that he’d died in a boating accident.

But why did Mom lie about Oliver? And why did he disappear from their lives? Will suddenly feels sick. Was he not good enough? Was there something wrong with him that made Oliver leave? Will feels hot anger boiling in his stomach and crosses to the door, but stops short of opening it. He looks back to the tablet and the paused video. 

He sits back down on the edge of the bed and with shaking hands picks the tablet back up. Alright, let’s hear the rest of what this asshole has to say. 

“A father should be there for his child, every day no matter what to make sure they feel loved, that they feel safe, and a child should be able to rely on their father and go to them for guidance and reassurance. I have failed to do that for you,” Oliver says slowly, to which Will scoffs at. Duh. 

“And now I’m...I’m gonna tell you why,” Oliver stares into the camera. 

Because you’re a deadbeat dad? Because you thought you were better than me? Will thinks. 

“I’m the Green Arrow.” Oliver looking dead serious as he says this. 

Well, shit. 

“And my life is very dangerous, which is why...We decided to keep this from you all these years.” 

We? Mom knew all this? Of course she knew. Why else would she have the video to give him. A new wave of anger surges through Will, tears coming. 

“What happened to you in Star City, that was my fault, and I can’t allow anything like that to happen ever again, and that’s why I’ve asked you mother to move you far away and to not tell anyone where she’s taking you...including me. It’s also why I asked her to wait to show you this message until after your 18th birthday.” There are tears in Oliver’s eyes, and that makes Will’s tears worse, streaming down his face. 

“I wanted to give you a real childhood,” Oliver says, his voice breaking just a bit. “I wanted to give you that gift. Good-bye, Son. I sure hope it’s not forever.” The video stops there, black. 

Silence fills the room. His father, Oliver, is the Green Arrow. Will has no idea where to go with this. How should he feel? He feels a bit better, that at least it wasn’t totally his fault his father was never around. But what does he do now? 

He watches the video a couple more times and looking into Oliver’s pain-filled eyes but there’s a part of him that wonders if there’d been another way. Will looks at the time stamp of the video file. February 2016. Just a day or so after he’d been rescued from his kidnappers. Just a day or so after he’d watched the Green Arrow take out the man in black. 

Will thinks back to that moment on the front steps of that house. He can still remember thinking how huge the Green Arrow looked in person- massive arms, deadly weaponry. Once the Green Arrow had gotten the upper hand, he’d put that man down quickly. The blows he delivered looked painful. When the man in black had been beaten down to the ground, the Green Arrow had stood up straight, large and formidable. The bow and arrows hadn’t been the most dangerous thing about him.

He’d kept his eyes on Will, as the sirens came closer. Will had been in awe of that man. He’d done exactly what the Flash would have done. He was a hero. The Green Arrow only left when the police captain told him to. That was his dad. His dad had saved his life, and then sent him away. 

Will flops back onto his bed, and spends the next several hours searching everything and anything on the Green Arrow, like he’s done before. Before it was cool, a legendary hero protecting the city he loved, keeping the people in it as safe as possible. He’d read accounts of the Arrow taking down the Dark Archer, Deathstroke, the organization known as H.I.V.E. The Green Arrow was larger than life.

Now...now Will reads the accounts, and all he can’t help but selfishly think: This was more important than your own child? 

He doesn’t go downstairs to talk to Mom about it. Instead he acts as if he’d never watched the video, although he watches at least once a day when she’s not around. Mom doesn’t bring it up, although she senses him pull away, as much as he tries not to. He’s still not sure how he feels about her role in all of this, but he knows one thing: Mom’s been here. 

He doesn’t ask any questions until two months later, the day before he’s due to leave for Star City. “What’s his last name?” Will asks her, as she works on packing his clothes for him, folding them as neatly and deliberately as she can. He doesn’t have the heart to tell her it’s not worth it. Those clothes won’t look like that again until he comes home for winter break.

Mom takes a sharp breath in, looking surprised. He’s not sure if it’s because she’d thought he didn’t want to talk about it or she’d assumed he’d have a different first question. “Queen. Oliver Queen.” Will nods, and before she can say anymore, because she looks like she has a million words waiting to climb out of her, he grabs one of the boxes and walks out of the room. 

Later that night rather than watch the video, Will reads up on Oliver Queen. The Queen name is fairly well known, especially in the tech world. Will’s phone is a Queen, Inc. smartphone, and just last year Will’s uncle got a Queen, Inc. bio stimulator implant to repair his torn acl. That’s all Felicity Queen, Oliver’s wife.

Oliver’s story is a bit weird. Ex-billionaire playboy who’d been marooned on an island for five years, he’d apparently grown up quite a lot. Clearly, he’d changed quite a lot. 

As if being a superhero isn’t enough, he’s serving his third term as mayor of Star City. It’s the picture of the last inauguration, Oliver taking the oath of office as Felicity and their small son stand next to him that makes Will sick to his stomach. 

When Mom comes out to the garage at two am to find Will hitting his cell phone over and over with a bat on the concrete floor, she doesn’t say anything. When he’s done destroying his phone he lets her hug him, but he refuses to say anything. Until now, he hasn’t been able to put a name to what he was feeling, but after looking at that photo, it hits him. Will feels rejection. 

Before they leave for the airport the next morning they stop and buy a new smartphone, the Kord X. Will spends the next month filling that smartphone with new phone numbers and photos. College is exactly what he’d thought it be, a lot of work, a lot of beer, and a lot of girls. It’s awesome, and exactly what he needs. He doesn’t have a whole lot of time to think about Oliver and the fact that he lives mere miles away, content with his own family. 

For the most part, Will is able to ignore Oliver Queen. It’s easy to swipe to another page on the newspaper when his name comes up, and it’s not like Mayor Queen would run in the same circles as some no-name freshman in the engineering school. It’s a bit of a hassle since all the tech at SCU is Queen, Inc. Will’s Kord X cellphone and Kord Next tablet work just fine. His roommate makes fun of him, like he’s some hipster still using Apple products ironically, but whatever. 

It’s not until finals week when Will cracks, when cramming, no sleep and a whole lot of Red Bull prompt him to call his mother, as he watches a news video of the annual Queen, Inc. Chrismukkah party. There’s footage of Tommy, the little four year old sitting on Santa’s lap. He’s crying, but the camera stays on him for the big moment: Oliver swooping in, picking him up and soothing his crying, distressed son. Will pauses the video.

It’s three in the morning on his coast, so there’s a good chance she’s up when he calls. Sure enough, Mom answers with a bright, “Hi, baby! What are you doing up?” 

“You know he still goes out as the Green Arrow,” Will says without preamble. “Just the other day, the Green Arrow and Speedy took out some would be bombers trying to plant a bomb down by the docks.” 

“William,” Mom says gently but Will interrupts.

“He said it was too dangerous, me being in his life,” Will says as he looks to the paused video. “Now he has a family. Another son.” 

Mom sighs. “William, I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not exactly fair.”

Will scoffs. “I wasn’t good enough to be a Queen. I wasn’t important enough to...” 

“Oh, honey.” Mom’s crying, which makes Will feel a bit bad. “That wasn’t it, at all. You don’t know the whole story. Get some sleep, and we’ll video chat once you’ve gotten a few hours.”

Will is silent a moment. He’s ridiculous to be calling his mommy at 3 in the morning and he’s thankful Grayson, his roommate is over at his girlfriend’s tonight. “Forget it, Mom. I’ll be fine.”

“William,” Mom says in a low voice that’s always put the fear of God into him, “when you come home for break we are going to talk about this. I shouldn’t have let this go on for as long as it has.” Will goes along with her, but hopes in the next two weeks she forgets this conversation ever happened. 

She doesn’t.

Mom lulls Will into a false sense of security, allowing him space the first three days he’s back on break. The fourth day, a Saturday, Dave makes vague noise about going Christmas shopping, but Will’s not so hungover that he doesn’t pick up on the memo that Dave got to get out of the house for a couple hours. 

Will and Mom sit down in the family room that looks out to the porch, and just beyond the porch is the treehouse. Will would sit up there for hours as a kid, pretending he was the Green Arrow, surveying his city, keeping a watchful eye to protect it. 

“I don’t want you to think this is all Oliver’s fault,” Mom starts, “or that he didn’t...doesn’t love you. I was part of the decision not to tell you...and there’s more to the story than what you know.” 

“Mom,” Will says, “I don’t want you to take the blame for his decisions.” 

“Do you remember when Oliver started visiting us?” Mom asks. 

Will nods, “Yeah. We played action figures.”  
“Yes, you did,” Mom smiles. “Do you know why he started visiting us?” 

Will shrugs, “Crisis of conscious?” 

Mom looks down a moment and when she looks back up to meet Will’s eyes she’s ashamed. “Will, he had no idea about you until then. I...I told him I had a miscarriage.”

Will’s floored. “You lied to him?” He asks. “Why?” 

Mom sighs. “I was young, frightened. His mother, Moira, wasn’t...she wanted the best for Oliver and he wasn’t ready to be a father. She tried to bribe me with some money, gave me a check. I never cashed it, but I wanted to protect you. So I told him I’d lost the baby...lost you.” 

Will is silent, taking it all in. Then he asks, “Were you ever going to tell him?”

“You were almost two when Oliver and his father were presumed dead. I thought that was it. When you started asking questions, it was easy to say he died in a boating accident, because he did,” she says. 

“And then he came back from the dead,” Will replies. 

Mom nods, “Yes, but William, we had such a good life. I didn’t want to upset all of that. And Oliver...he had so much going on in his life. I just thought...I just thought it was better for everyone.” 

Will looks at his mother with new eyes. He never imagined she’d keep something like this from him. He’s in disbelief. “I just...I don’t know what to say, Mom. I feel like you...and Oliver made decisions for me that...how can I...how do you know there was no other way?”

Mom takes his hand. “Back then, neither one of us could ten feet ahead. The decision to move and not tell you about Oliver, it was made 48 hours after you’d been abducted. And it wasn’t the enemy of the Green Arrow that took you. It was an enemy of Oliver Queen. Can you imagine the utter fear we both felt? I don’t know if there is anything more painful than losing you own child. I came extremely close, Will. We both made sure it was not going to happen again.” Mom is nearly sobbing, and as upset as Will is, he can’t help but pull her into a hug. She loops her arms around him and hangs on for dear life. 

It’s a few moments after Mom gets her breathing under control. “You know, Moira...Oliver’s mother. She wasn’t a particularly nice woman, but she gave me the best advice about parenthood anybody ever could.”

“What’s that?” Will whispers.

“She said when it comes to your children, no action is inconceivable, there’s no decision impossible to make,” Mom says through tears. “She was right. She was absolutely right.” 

Mom pulls away from WIll, but takes his hands in hers. “I’m so sorry that we’ve caused you so much pain, but William, whatever you may think of your father, of me, know this: We both love you. We love you so much and we will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” 

Later, Will climbs up to the treehouse, a couple of beers smuggled in his jacket, and his tablet. He watches the video again, and thinks about what Mom said earlier. Will tries to watch the video detached, objectively. 

He tries to put himself in Oliver’s shoes, Mom’s shoes. He thinks about the extreme terror in Mom’s eyes as she talked about the kidnapping. It hits Will that she’s probably thought of it every day since it’s happened, eight long years later. She’s thought of how close she came to the pain of losing him. 

It hits him harder than he thought. Oliver actually did lose his child. Sure Will wasn’t dead, but really, what’s the difference? He watches the video one last time, and he lets Oliver’s words sink in like they’ve never done before. He made the impossible decision. Will allows himself to feel something for Oliver. A bit of forgiveness. Not a lot, but he figures it’s a start. 

The spring semester is just as busy as the fall semester, and with the small measure of forgiveness he’s given Oliver, Will feels a bit lighter. The fraternity he’s joined keeps him busy and his course load means he spends a lot of time at the campus library, and not because of the cute girl working the circulation desk he’s been flirting with since November.

Her name is Molly, a sophomore living in Pennytown. Will works up the courage to talk to her, and after walking her to her car one night, scores her number. 

Molly is sweet, funny and whip smart. Very quickly Will finds that she consumes a lot of his thoughts, desires. It’s fun being with her, and for the first time in a while Will finds himself worrying less and less about Oliver Queen. It’s refreshing. 

April in Star City is an odd time. There’s a rise in police patrols, and extra campus security is hired. Will sees a lot more ambulances driving around, almost patrolling like the cops. More than that, there’s a feeling of tension that slinks through the city. It seems like everyone acts with extra caution, like around any corner is the boogieman. Molly, a lifelong resident of Star City, shrugs it off. “It’s always like this in the spring. Weird things happen here in the spring.” 

“You’re not worried?” Will asks over some Big Belly Burgers. He’s been reading on his phone about the Chinese Triad stepping up their arms deals. 

“We just have to get through mid-May, and we’ll be good,” Molly says.

“It really gets that bad?” Will wonders.

“Well,” Molly replies, popping a fry in her mouth, “I have twenty bucks in the family betting pool it’ll be pestilence this year.” She winks at Will, and he’s not all that sure she’s actually joking. 

It doesn’t end up being pestilence. 

Will and some fraternity brothers are at one of the college bars that turns a blind eye to underage drinking celebrating the end of semester finals, when phone alerts start popping up. The Star City alert system rolls out notifications for everyone to stay indoors. Newscast videos from Channel 52 report that masked men and women have poured out into the streets. They are armed and very dangerous. Someone on the scene has reported that the Green Arrow and his associates are on the scene. 

Will’s stomach drops when he sees where the center of the action is: It’s just north of the Glades, segueing into Pennytown. The bar owner’s calling for everyone to settle up their tabs and go home. He’s closing before the violence reaches this part of town. Will throws his money down on the bar and leaves, calling Molly on the way out. She was planning on meeting him at the next bar. He prays she hasn’t left her apartment. There’s no answer on her phone. 

The decision is simple. He heads for Pennytown. Will can’t hail a cab and for the thousandth time wishes he had a car. He has never been so thankful for his running regimen in his life as he runs south through the city, against the grain as people try and get as far away from the danger as possible. He continues to try and get a hold of Molly, but it seems the cell phone towers are overloaded, so many people on their networks. 

He tries to tamp down the panic he’s feeling. As he gets closer to Pennytown he passes cars on fire and mass looting. People are desperately trying to get out of Pennytown. Will tries one more time to call Molly, and thank God, she answers.

“Where are you?” Will demands as soon as she picks up.

“Gallagher’s, Will where are you?” Molly asks. 

“I’m on my way,” Will says. “Don’t move. Stay on the line.” Will takes the nearest right, heading for Gallagher’s. They stay on the phone together, Molly nearly in tears, and Will, honestly, not far behind her. Will doesn’t know what he’s saying to her over the phone, and he doesn’t register what she says back, just that she’s still there. When the phone cuts off, leaving silence, Will screams in frustration, and sprints the rest of the way before turning the corner to see Gallagher’s in flames. 

People are pouring out, and Will surveys the scene. He launches himself towards the bar, and nearly falls over himself when he sees Molly run out, gasping and choking on the smoke. 

“Molly!” he roars, barely looking as he crosses the street to her. She throws herself into his arms when she sees him, and in that moment, Will knows he will never let her go. He grabs her hand. “Let’s go!” 

They take cover in an alley three streets over. It’s a dead end, but Molly has to stop, still short of breath from the smoke. 

Will takes the moment to weigh their options. Molly’s apartment is only two blocks away towards all the violent crazies that are out. They could make a run for it there, bunker down, and pray her apartment building isn’t damaged. Or, they can go back the way Will came, towards SCU’s campus. From past history, the campus has almost always been avoided. No one’s ever cared about hurting college students, apparently. 

“What do you think? Apartment or run?” Will asks Molly. Will knows his answer, but he wants Molly’s.

“Run. The campus.” Molly replies. Her eyes are steely, determined, making Will feel butterflies in his stomach. Goddamnit, Will. Man up. 

“How ‘bout neither?” A masked man steps into the alley, a bat with nails in hand. A second masked man is behind him, armed with a police officer’s baton. 

Will pushes Molly behind him, and quickly looks around for something, anything to defend himself with. Near a dumpster he sees a piece of wood. He grabs it, ready to use it like a bat. 

They both come at Will, and he pushes Molly behind the dumpster, and then takes a big swing. The first masked man dodges the swipe, and Will is left off balanced and nearly falls into the dumpster. He hears Molly cry out and plants his feet, and with all his might takes another big swing. 

This time he connects. There’s a loud crack as the piece of wood hit’s the guy’s head and he drops suddenly. It’s incredibly satisfying, but incredibly distracting. 

Will’s looking down when the second masked man slaps Will’s legs out from under him with the police baton. The back of Will’s head smacks the pavement, and he’s left breathless for a moment. 

He vaguely hears Molly sobbing his name, and he’s pulled up by his shirt by the masked man with one hand. The other hand, with the police baton is ready to strike Will again when suddenly, the masked man is thrown off of him and into a pile of wood pallets.

Will struggles to get up, and Molly appears next to him, helping him up. His heart stops when his eyes focus enough for him to see who pulled the guy off of him.

The Green Arrow. Will finds himself back on those front steps eight years ago, watching the Green Arrow take out Damian Darhk. He looks the same. It’s funny, Will is every bit of 6 foot now, but his father looks even taller, a giant. 

The Green Arrow...Oliver is working on a third masked man that’s entered the alley way. This one seems a little more adept at hand to hand combat, and it looks as though the Green Arrow is favoring his right side a bit as he trades and deflects blows. 

Will shoves Molly behind him again when the masked man grabs the Green Arrow’s bow with both hands and shoves Oliver with all his might, forcing Oliver down on his right knee, making Oliver cry out in pain. 

Looking down, Will sees the police baton, and yells “Hey, Green Arrow!” and slides the baton across the pavement, right into Oliver’s waiting hand. The masked man is momentarily distracted as Oliver grabs the baton and hits him underneath the jaw. The man lets go of the bow, and stumbles back. Oliver grabs an arrow from his quiver and jams it into the man’s arm. The man drops in pain. 

Oliver stands up, hopping a bit on his left leg, gingerly putting weight on his right. He surveys the scene, the police baton still in his hand. 

“Thank you,” Molly calls out to him as Will puts an arm around her shoulders. 

“Get to safety,” Oliver says gruffly, taking a few steps back for Will and Molly to pass. 

Will pulls Molly along past him, Oliver’s hood obscuring his face as he looks down. 

“Wait,” Molly stops Will and turns around to Oliver. “Could we…” She points to the baton in Oliver’s hand self-consciously. “Could we have that? Bad neighborhood and all?” Will looks at Molly in awe. This woman is amazing. 

Oliver’s head snaps up, and there’s a small smirk on his face, but he lifts the baton up towards them. Will closes the space between them, grasping the other end of the baton.

The lighting in the alley is poor, but Will meets Oliver’s eyes, and Oliver’s eyes widen. There’s recognition. It didn’t occur to Will that Oliver would ever recognize him, but he does. They have the same eyes, same chin. 

Oliver’s lips part, as if he’s about to say something, but Will just nods at him, an acknowledgement of what they both know. “Thank you, again,” Will says. 

Oliver jerkily nods, “Keep you head on a swivel and get out of here.” His voice isn’t gruff this time, if anything it’s a little thick sounding. Will nods his head and turns back to Molly and they make their way out of the alley. When Will spares a glance back to the alley, The Green Arrow is gone. 

Later that night, after Will and Molly make it back to his dorm room, they sit on his bed huddled together, watching the news. Mom calls early in the morning, almost hysterically crying.

“I’ve been trying to get through for hours,” she says, and Will can hear Dave shushing her in the background, trying to soothe. “This is how it felt that night,” she whispers to Will. 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that again, Mom,” Will says. He takes a deep breath, “but you didn’t need to worry. We were out of danger the entire time. We came straight back to my dorm, been here ever since. I tried calling, but the phones.”

It takes another fifteen minutes for Mom to calm down, and a million promises to call again later in the day. Molly falls asleep in his arms not long after, exhausted and wrecked from the day, but Will doesn’t fall asleep right away. 

He knows he should feel guilty about lying to his Mom like that, and he does, but knowing that he’s spared her more pain, more fear? That means everything to Will. She doesn’t deserve that kind of pain. Neither did a ten year old boy.

When Will and Molly wake up later in the day it's to a press conference being held by Deputy Mayor Schallert. It’s clear he knows he’s not the one the city needs right now and he’s assuring everyone that Mayor Queen is fine, despite being caught in the fighting last night.

“We all know how hands-on Oliver can be,” Schallert says, “He tried all night to get back to city hall from his lake house up north. He was driving his Ducati when he was involved in a crash with another vehicle we believe was targeting the mayor.” 

Will sits up a bit straighter as Schallert continues, “Mayor Queen is in stable condition at Star City General. I haven’t talked to him, but Mrs. Queen assures me he will make a full recovery. She thanks everyone for their prayers and good wishes.”

“Him and that damn Ducati,” Molly sighs. Apparently it’s a thing. And a convenient cover for any and all injuries. 

When the dust settles, it’s revealed the masked men and women who terrorized the city were led by John King, a fairly well known businessman who apparently had it out for the Green Arrow. He’s found dead a day or so after the attack, seemingly double crossed by his hired guns. 

Everyone in Star City have seemingly moved on from the terrorist attack with practiced ease, including Molly. The winnings from the betting pool her family had went to her uncle, with his bet on “crazy ninjas” being determined as the closest thing to what actually happened.

“Next year, I’m going with zombie apocolypse,” Molly decides. She’s taken the whole almost dying thing in stride. Will is so screwed.

A week after the incident, Will finds himself in a neighborhood in Westchester a few miles from downtown Star City. The house is nestled towards the back. It's a large Cape Cod style home, and Will tries hard not to be intimidated or frightened about what's about to happen. He's failing miserably. 

For months now, Will’s thought a lot about getting in touch with Oliver, but he’s always stopped himself. Part of Will doesn’t know what he should expect from Oliver. Oliver had let him go, and moved on with his life. Sure, his video implied he wanted some type of relationship now that Will was old enough, but things change. Back then, Oliver thought it was too dangerous to have a child. Now, he has a four year old who the media has christened “Star City’s favorite son.” 

It’s not like Will needs Oliver, either. His stepfather is a good man, and has always been there for Will when he needed him, and while things have been a bit strained with Mom since the video, she’s been the one constant in Will’s life. 

But after the other night, things have changed. Will has to admit to himself it felt good that Oliver recognized his own son after all the years apart. A large part of the anger, the rejection he’s been feeling has dissipated, enough so that he can probably talk to Oliver Queen now without a sweeping need to punch him in the face. 

It was quite simple, getting in touch. And once it happened, that simple phone call, things escalated very quickly. Will new the easiest way to get in touch with Oliver was through his wife, especially since the news was reporting Oliver was still in the hospital, having needed a total knee replacement.

So, Will had called Queen Inc. And after a few false starts, Will was able to get connected to Felicity's office. All he had to do was leave a message for her with his name: William Clayton. She called back three hours later, hurriedly apologizing that it had taken her that long to get the message and then launching into another hurried apology that it was her calling back and not Oliver. She sounded stressed, and Will surmised It wasn't just him that was causing it. 

“Look,” Will said a little forcefully as Mrs. Queen continued to babble, “I just wanted to see how he was doing.”

“So that was you? In the alleyway?” Mrs. Queen asked softly before chuckling, “I thought it was the pain medication he was on.”

“So he's okay?” Will asks.

She sighs. “Total knee replacement, mild concussion, and some internal bleeding that’s supposed to resolve on its own. He’ll be fine so long as he doesn’t try anything dumb during his recovery, so it’s anyone’s guess.” 

They're both silent a moment. Will doesn't know what to say. 

“Listen, I'm not sure what you want,” Mrs. Queen says gently, “but Oliver will be released from the hospital in a few days and I'm sure he would love to see you. I'd say you're more than welcome to come now, but like I said before, he's on a lot of pain medication right now.”

So now a week later, Will stands at the Queen’s front door, summoning up the courage to knock. This might be scarier than those masked men nearly killing him and Molly. 

Will takes a deep breath and knocks on the door, and very quickly the door opens. Will expects a butler or something, but it’s Mrs. Queen. She’s smiling, but clearly as nervous as Will is. 

“Hi, William,” she says and extends her hand. 

“Mrs. Queen,” he says, shaking her hand. 

“Please, call me Felicity,” she says and leads him inside to the foyer. It’s not stuffy inside, like Will imagined, there’s no foreboding dark wood paneling or stark gray minimalist style. It’s cozy and warm, with bright colors. “Can I get you anything, William? Water? Soda?”

Will shakes his head, trying to remember the manners Mom taught him. “No, thanks...and it’s Will. I go by Will.” 

Felicity smiles and nods, “Of course, Will.” She leads Will through to the back of the house, through the kitchen. It’s a massive kitchen, and from what Will can tell, top of the line appliances that look restaurant grade. Beyond the kitchen is an eating area and beyond that, on the far side of the room is a fireplace with a leather couch in front of it. This is the room that feels most lived in, like they spend most of their time in here, but Will doesn’t see Oliver. 

“He’s outside, on the patio,” Felicity says, leading Will towards the french doors that lead outside. 

The patio is covered, more leather furniture situated around a firepit. There’s an inground pool a few feet away, and a breathtaking view of Star City beyond it. 

Oliver is laid out on an armchair and ottoman, crutches within arm’s length, talking quietly with the four year old, Tommy, perched on the arm of the chair and has a stethoscope around his neck. 

“Ima doctor,” Tommy is saying to Oliver. “I’s going to make you bedder.”

“I already feel a ton better, buddy,” Oliver says, ruffling his son’s head. Will looks away, his feet rooted in the doorway. 

“Mama!” Tommy calls out when he see Felicity, waving the stethoscope around, Oliver dodging out of the way.

“Playing doctor?” Felicity calls out as she approaches. “I remember when I used to do that.” She winces at that comment, her eyes nervously shifting back to Will in the doorway. “Come here, baby,” she says to Tommy beckoning him into her arms, but Tommy is hesitant, looking at Oliver.

“No, mama,” Tommy says very seriously. 

“Come on, sweetie, Daddy has a visitor,” Felicity says, prompting Oliver to turn around and see Will in the doorway, who shuffles a step forward. 

Tommy is a stubborn one. “No, mama. Daddy.” Oliver pulls Tommy close into a hug, and Will can’t hear what he says to his son, but reluctantly, Tommy lets go, and allows Felicity to take him in her arms. She gives a reassuring smile to Will when she passes him, while Tommy just glares, his pouty lips making Will smile. 

There’s absolute silence as Will walks forward, ending up on Oliver’s left. Oliver is just staring at him, like he’s still trying to process Will’s presence, so Will starts the conversation.

“Hi,” he says, feeling more awkward than he ever has in his life. 

“Hi,” Oliver returns, a bit slowly. “Take a seat.” 

Will does, and take a moment to look over Oliver. He looks tired, worn out. It looks like there’s bulky bandages underneath the sweatpants he’s wearing. “Does it, uh, hurt?” Will asks, point to Oliver’s leg.

“It’s feeling better, thanks. Honestly, it’s been a long time coming,” Oliver says, sighing.

Will nods, desperately trying to think of something, anything to say. All these months, he’s thought of exactly what he’d say to Oliver Queen if ever he had the chance, none of it nice. But now, after the other night...he has no idea what to say.

It’s clear Oliver’s struggling to find words as well. “So, you live in Star City?” he asks finally.

Will nods, “Yeah, I’m a freshman at SCU. I’m majoring in civil engineering.” 

Oliver nods, “SCU has a great program. Best in the country.” 

“Well, you guys are pretty good at re-building,” Will replies. Star City has quite the reputation. 

“Yeah,” Oliver replies. There’s another stretch of silence and a wide space between them. “Did you rush?” 

“Sigma Phi,” Will says, puffing up his chest a bit. 

“Good group of guys,” Oliver says, “Threw really good parties.” 

Will smirks, “Still do.” Oliver smiles back at him and Will feels a bit at ease. Maybe this won’t be so hard.

Oliver glances back towards the house, thinking for a moment. “I’m sure you have questions, a lot of them, and I know nothing I can say or do will make it up.” He looks utterly devastated. 

Will takes a deep breath, “I’ve watched your video probably a million times since Mom gave it to me last summer, and for the longest time I couldn’t understand how you could make that choice. To just walk away and say you did it out of love. I didn’t get it. I kept asking myself what was wrong with me?” 

Oliver looks down, shame written all over his face. 

“But the other night... in the alleyway, all I could think about was keeping Molly safe and I was ready to do whatever it took to save her. I was ready to sacrifice everything for her,” Will says. 

“You kept your head,” Oliver says hoarsely. 

Will nods. “We all make sacrifices for the people we love, to protect them...Hell, I told my mom we were in my dorm room the entire night so she would stop freaking out.”

“Try not to make a habit out of it,” Oliver replies. “Lying to my loved ones never worked out well...it’s why we’re here in this situation.” 

“Mom didn’t help,” Will points out. 

Oliver is about to reply when movement out of the corner of Will’s eyes distracts both of them. Tommy comes ambling out of the house, swinging his stethoscope again. He looks suspiciously at Will before carefully climbing into his father’s lap. “Where’s mom?” Oliver asks, glancing hesitatingly at Will.

“The ‘puter,” Tommy says, snuggling into Oliver’s chest. The kid looks tired, about to drop. Oliver sighs, pressing a kiss into his son’s head, and Will feels a stab of jealousy, feeling uncomfortable again. 

Oliver watches Will watch Tommy. “Know that there has not been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about you,” Oliver says to Will. “I think about everything I missed. Birthdays, games, just...being there.”

“You were there when it mattered,” Will says, “You saved my life, twice.” 

Oliver nods, but doesn’t look like he completely agrees. 

“Do you worry about him?” Will asks, nodding towards Tommy, whose breathing is slowly evening out as he falls asleep.

He watches his father take a moment to push away Tommy’s hair out of his face. “All the time, I worry about him. Being a Queen doesn’t always leave us in the safest of positions. Felicity and I, we’ve made enemies, with and without the mask.”

“That didn’t stop you from having him,” Will says, and he hopes he doesn’t sound petulant. 

“Felicity and I found another way. A way to have children and keep them safe,” Oliver says looking at William. “I wish I could have done that for you, but your mother and I, we made the decision and I’ve had to live with it, and I will never ever forgive myself for making you live with it too.” 

Silence falls between Will and Oliver again. Will feels utterly exhausted and emotionally spent. 

After a few moments of silence, Felicity breezes through with a “Oh good, he’s with you,” apologizing about Curtis calling and distracting her.

“A+ parenting, Smoak,” Oliver teases as Felicity picks a sleeping Tommy out of Oliver’s arms and takes him upstairs. Oliver is looking just as tired, so Will decides this is his cue.

“I should get going,” Will says, standing up.

Oliver reaches for his crutches. “Do you want to stay for dinner?” He grunts as he stands up, situating his crutches underneath him.  
Will shakes his head, “No, thank you. I”m meeting my girlfriend. We’re going to the Sentinels game tonight.” 

“Good game, tonight. Bradley’s pitching” Oliver replies.

Will nods, surprised Oliver’s a baseball fan. “Yeah, and Marks is coming off the DL, finally,” Oliver nods in agreement and walks, or rather crutches, Will to the front door. 

“How about dinner next week?” Oliver asks. When Will hesitates, Oliver backtracks, “No pressure, or anything, really.” 

Will considers it, looking at Oliver and nods slowly. “Yeah, um, yeah. Felicity gave me your number. I’ll text you?” 

The relief on Oliver’s face is evident, “Sounds good.” 

“Okay, so, okay,” Will says, cringing in his head at his awkwardness. “I’ll see you next week.”

“William,” Oliver says stopping him as he passes through the door. He extends his hand. “I meant what I said. I haven’t earned being your father, not yet, but I’m really glad you came today. Thank you.” 

Will takes Oliver’s hand. Will gives Oliver one last tight smile before turning and leaving. 

Will doesn’t remember getting back to Molly’s apartment, but he does remember her kind eyes as he explains why he borrowed her car that afternoon. He tells her everything, almost everything. He leaves out the Oliver is the Green Arrow bit, because that’s not his secret to tell. 

They don’t go to the game that night, instead they stay in watching it, ordering pizza and drinking beer. There’s a reason her nickname is “The Unsinkable Molly.” She asks quiet questions, but doesn’t push, and when it seems to be too much she distracts him, asking incredibly dumb questions about baseball like her family doesn’t have season tickets. Damn her and her psychology major. 

The next day, after thinking way too long about it, Will sends a simple text: Good game last night.

A few minutes later his phone pings back: Yeah, Diamonds series should be even better next week.

Will looks at his phone for a moment, before replying: Yup. Looking forward to next week. He smiles when he gets a reply right back:

Me too.

**Author's Note:**

> On Tumblr at: @kayleegee-writes


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